How much money does Dr. Evil demand in the first Austin Powers movie?
In "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery," Dr. Evil returns from a 30-year deep freeze to find his criminal empire has become a legitimate business worth billions. After a crash course in modern economics from Number Two, he adjusts his original ransom demand. What astronomical figure does this confused villain finally demand to avoid being laughed out of the UN?
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The answer is: $100 billion
When Number Two explains three decades of inflation to Dr. Evil, the villain ups his initial million-dollar demand to a much more reasonably evil $100 billion. He promptly forgets this conversation moments later at the UN, announcing "ONE MILLION DOLLARS!" to a room of laughing world leaders. Realizing his mistake, he quickly corrects himself. "ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS!" Not so funny anymore! Still pretty funny to the audience, to be fair.
The moment perfectly captures Dr. Evil's fish-out-of-water situation as a 1960s villain trying to operate in the 1990s, but the Austin Powers' arch enemy just couldn't grasp modern economics.
The scene launched a running gag throughout the franchise. Sometimes, he'd ask for too much money, but other times, he wasn't even sure what he was asking for. Mike Myers improvised the original million-dollar line complete with pinky gesture, catching the other actors off guard.
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